Protecting the vulnerable

Vulnerable people such as the elderly, people with disabilities or with any kind of ailment may face abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Every person, at some point or another in life, may have been vulnerable

These individuals may be living in the community or in long-term care facilities. Yet, at times, they may be unable to shield their own interests or effectively perform or attain services necessary to satisfy their essential human needs.

Consequently, organisations which give care services have a great responsibility on a person’s life and wellbeing. Such companies need to elucidate and perceive clearly their role which demands liability, power and answerability to the safety of every susceptible adult and child.

Companies offering care services need to endorse high-quality practice as a means of averting abuse or neglect, being aware at an early stage that things may be going wrong.

Such information must be given to the appropriate agencies, whose role is to delve into such delicate matters and see to the requirements of individuals who have been allegedly abused or whose care is not being met sufficiently.

These are indispensable and indisputable measures that should form part of every company’s aim to protect. When it applies to children, there should be similar and even stricter responsibilities involved to avert harm to a child, while at the same time trying to take care of the veracity of the family and protect the parents.

When dealing with vulnerable adults, there is apprehension with regard to autonomy, while at the same time assisting in promoting welfare. Generally, companies have concerns on how to strike a balance in such multifaceted and complex circumstances.

Not every person runs the same risk when putting forth matters of protection openly. In an industry of social care, there are controlling matters which sometimes function contrary to openness.

Every person, at some point or another in life, may have been vulnerable. It is also a fact that there are individuals who are more vulnerable than others. Although a person goes through this phase in life, there are still fortes, aptitudes, assets, capabilities and potentiality in a person’s life.

Also, parents most probably feel vulnerable when they know that their child has a disability or an illness. Many thoughts and emotions may arise. Parents of children with disabilities may feel isolated from society. Parents who experience pressure due to a disability or a sickness may experience lack of money, lack of emotional support, lack of services and a lack of scientific testing.

Children may feel vulnerable when they pass through a difficult time in their lives such as a loss in their family, especially when a close member such as a parent or a sibling dies, or separation between their parents. When a child experiences bereavement, the child needs an excessive amount of emotional and social support.

Helping strategies in similar circumstances would include respect towards the individual, enhancing and promoting the latter’s helpful circumstances and capabilities, giving personal support, providing supportive resources and providing good quality information which gives adequate and possible options that can be adopted to ameliorate.

Protecting a child would also include supporting the parents to manage, apart from intervening quickly, to give alternative care. The company’s responsibility is to make practitioners aware of the kind of vulnerabilities and risks when they produce multifaceted assessments and work with service users during a period of vulnerability.

Care-giving companies are fully responsible for the quality of care they deliver. Therefore, it would be highly suggested to use approach meetings to manage tactics completely: examining cautiously that service users’ requests are understood; maintaining care plans up to date with frequent re-evaluation; and placing cautious recruitment on the agenda, recurrent supervision, complaints actions and training opportunities for staff.

All these strategies can stop or deter abusive circumstances from tarnishing quality of care and work. The level of satisfaction expected from the given services is very vital.

Thus in order to attain a holistic picture of what is really occurring, and so try to concur the greatest achievable strategies for intervention, each individual has to participate and give one’s fullest contribution.

Olivia Cuschieri is a care operations manager.

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